The Tepid War
by KeizerHarm
Summary: What if, in the second season episode "The Chase", Zuko had accepted Katara's offer to heal his uncle? The result is an alliance about as stable as a komodo rhino family reunion.
1. Chapter 1

This had not been a good day. Fire Prince Zuko, only half aware of his whereabouts and not at all of his horizontal position, drew a shallow breath, and immediately regretted it, coughing up the dust he had inhaled from the floor. _Why am I on the ground? _he thought between every rasp. His whole body was aching, and every bit of exposed skin speckled with splinters. _Must remember_, his ill thoughts rambled on, _eradicate Earth Kingdom villages the standard way. Destroy walls by burning them down, not by getting shoved through them._

"Get up," said a familiar voice, slightly more firm than usual. He turned his head skyward, opened his dry eyes and saw a squat figure, topped with a grey beard and a face that had only gained more kindness with every new groove.

Things came back to him in a rush. The train tracks, which he had decided to follow on a whim. Then came a trail of mongoose lizard footprints, which converged with tufts of white fur, belonging to a very well-known bison. The destination was a long-abandoned town and this confused fight, which from the sound of shouting and commotion he deemed to still be ongoing.

Iroh helped him up, and the next thing he saw was Azula, backing out of a side street. General Iroh wasted no time shoving her with a belly whack, of all things. _Master of strategy_, Zuko thought, but he discovered the act to have put the princess in a much more comfortable position for them: right with her back against a wall.

More people joined, the Avatar among them, but in that moment Zuko had no eye for him. This was the end for Azula. Not in an honourable Agni Kai, but done in by superior numbers. Though with the mental state and apparent level of sleep deprivation in much of those numbers, it was more than fair for her, and he felt little regret.

"Well, look at this..." she said, smug and gleeful as ever. "Enemies and traitors, all working together." Zuko cast her his best attempt at a threatening glare, but her smile never wavered, even as she raised her hands and announced her surrender. No one believed it, of course. Azula always lies.

Yet, she waited the perfect amount of time. Perfect, as always. Just when the enemies and traitors began absorbing her remark; when more than a few of them had started casting short, hurried glances at each other to consider the unlikely companions they had ended up with… a blue jet pierced Iroh's chest.

He stumbled away and down. Zuko's vision clouded, and he responded on pure instinct. Next came a blur of wind, heat and tremors. Every element known to man was being hurled towards Azula, and one boomerang, making up in spirit what it lacked in destructive capabilities. That much energy could not exist in one place, and much like a komodo rhino family reunion, it spun out of control and a violent explosion resulted.

Zuko staggered back and then turned around, not minding the tar-black clouds or raining fire trying to hinder him from reaching his uncle. He was not conscious, and blood welled up from a charred mark, right on his massive chest. Zuko fell on his knees before him. He clenched his fists with all the rage and fire he had wanted to put into Azula, who was missing.

He heard footsteps, and yelled at the approaching enemies of the Fire Nation. His mind would not produce even one rational thought. Everything that had anything to do with Iroh's critical condition had to leave.

The man exhaled – a terrifyingly rasping sound. Perhaps his final breath. "Zuko, I can help!" he heard a girl say. The water girl; the one who had helpfully provided a pendent to trace the Avatar with. It was beyond unbelievable. What could this snow savage do for someone of noble blood? What _would_ she do for a general of the army she hated, other than poison him? Destroy this enemy for good?

A word formed in his mouth. A command as much as a plea, for the girl and everyone to leave them. Leave him with the responsibility for the death, and the duty to carry the burden. Not her, not any ally of the Avatar was to lay a finger on Iroh's body. It was not their burden. Energy boiled in his gut and made its way to his arms, ready to punctuate his order with a display of flames.

But the fire left him as quickly as it had welled up. The shout came out as a whisper. And Zuko dropped his arms and head. It was no remotely deliberate action; it was inaction, because there were no good choices left. Iroh would be proud.

-0o0o0-

"Katara?" Aang whispered.

"He saved the Moon Spirit," she answered his unspoken question delicately, and took one hesitant step forward. Only after the ground underneath her sandal had not turned to lava she dared put some weight on it.

"Do not steal Yue's credit," Sokka scoffed, and snagged his boomerang out of the air, holding it in a threatening manner towards Zuko. At least, as threatening as it could be to aim the warped piece of metal at the Fire Prince. Which was not very.

"I don't quite know what your problem with these people is," Toph said, "but the old man can be trusted."

Aang eyed Katara, who had kept on walking towards the two fire masters, and was compelled to intervene. "Zuko, Katara can heal him," he said, "but first you must step away."

Zuko remained silent and immobile, and Aang's confidence in his peace-mending abilities dropped a notch. A pair of feuding villages was one thing, but now he had to make a deal with someone who had attacked and wounded all of them before, in order to save an innocent life.

He was further humbled when Toph, who was not the most expected diplomat of the group, promptly resolved the situation. With a grunt she pulled from the ground a boulder the size of Appa's head, and held it over the firebenders. "Try anything, and this drops," she said firmly. Finally, the back of Zuko's head showed a nod. The side of it was illuminated by a soft blue glow as Katara went to work.

-0o0o0-

The radiant water sizzled and vibrated around her fingers, giving a vaguely ticklish sensation, feeling much like a drum skin in use. Healing Iroh was draining more power than Katara felt comfortable with, but the wound was deep, and she had had only a few hours of sleep in the last three days.

"Almost done?" Zuko grunted. He had not lifted his eyes off the magic in process.

"I am drained, I..." She sighed. "I don't know. Give me a night's rest, and I will have him fixed up before you can say 'honour'."

He did not say a word, but tensed every muscle in his face, pointed his fist skywards, and in a fiery blast shattered the floating sandstone to pieces. Katara smiled, yet regretted the loss of shade.

"Listen, I do not want to be here!" He spat every word with the pathos of a stage performer. "And you do not want me here."

"Katara needs rest," Aang said from behind, still sounding suspicious. "And your uncle does too."

"And you'll cut our throats in our sleep."

"Talk about ungrateful," Katara muttered. She put the water back in her flask, not feeling confident to continue treatment. At least Iroh was breathing easier, and the bleeding had mostly stopped.

"We have no reason to believe you would not do the same to us," said Aang. "Based on our history, I mean."

Zuko breathed in. "I... do not intend to."

"Then let's call a truce!"

"Based on what trust?"

"I know!" Toph cheered. "I don't particularly care for any of you all. I'll be the referee."

"I guess she could bury us all under stones, and no one could attack each other in the night…" Sokka mumbled, intrigued by the problem.

"Eartherner. This man," Zuko said solemnly, gesturing at Iroh's still body, "is known as the Dragon of the West. He besieged Ba Sing Se, your capital, for over a year, and managed to breach the outer wall. I don't see how you can be a neutral party."

"He really did? That's totally amazing!" Toph yelled, sounding genuinely excited. Zuko stared in disbelief, and Aang shrugged.

"Put us in separate earth tents, enclosed on all sides," he said, before staring at the shards laying on the ground. "And use a little harder rock this time." Toph obliged with a devilish grin, and began raising a wall around Zuko and Iroh. The former did not seem overly happy with the idea, but when no smoke started floating up from within their enclosure, they deemed that the proposal had been accepted.

Katara grinned at Aang. "You brokered a truce with the Fire Prince. I'm impressed." He beamed back at her, though with a gesture at Toph to point out that she should share in the praise.

The squad moved to the other side of the town, and Toph dutifully erected a barrier around them as well. Before Katara dozed off, she heard Zuko shout something in the distance about his mattress still being with his ostrich horse. "Not part of the truce!" Toph cackled back maliciously.


	2. Chapter 2

Queen Toph woke from a lengthy slumber atop her rocky throne. Today was the last day anyone would rise early, but still, imprisoning the other three members of her party was proving to be quite a satisfying act.

Proudly executing her arbitership, she had taken her rest in a personal hole right between the two enclosures. She felt that Iroh was still flat on the ground with an even breathing pattern, and Zuko had taken up a seated position against the wall; his own breath being even more consistent. _Too_ regular to be natural: he was probably meditating.

In the pen that was supposed to be holding Sokka, Katara and Aang, she detected only two individuals, and from their masses, walking patterns, and general "feel" in a way no seeing person could ever understand, she inferred that it was the Avatar who was absent. It was to be expected; she had intentionally neglected to provide either cell with a roof. Not that she needed a second referee, but the one who was supposed to balance the world was probably the party member who was the least likely to commit some act of backstabbery, and therefore a good back-up arbiter should she have decided to oversleep.

Content, she laid back and continued to ignore the continuous pleas from the two Water Tribe adolescents for food and freedom. _Just a couple more minutes…_

-OoOoO-

Sokka groaned like a tiger seal in season, and banged his head on the barrier a couple more times. It was of no use, for the rock held, as did his embarrassment.

"Why did I even suggest this..." he moaned. "I traded in our sacred freedom, for a murderer's ease of sleep." He brushed the dust off his forehead and tried to find a comfortable place to sit. It was as futile as his escape attempts had been.

"None of us were thinking all too straight yesterday," Katara said back, no more enthusiastic about the idea in hindsight. She did not want to waste her healing water on carving a hole in the wall, though. "At least Aang will be back with Appa soon enough. They can break us out if need be."

"You still want to fix him up? Remember what Zuko said; he _is_ a general."

"I don't know what he used to be; I know that he is honourable now..." Katara shook her head. "I can't say the same about his nephew."

"I am right here!" the nephew yelled. His voice echoed strangely as it came out of his well-shaped cell and into Sokka and Katara's, but it was easy to understand, and they both froze. "And I am no murderer."

"Right, because every house you burned down was empty," Katara replied mockingly.

"And every man you threw overboard could swim?"

"Every _Fire Nation soldier _I threw overboard, you mean!"

"That's war. I do not attack civilians either."

"What about Kyoshi Island?" Sokka interjected. He felt that the exchange had gone long enough without his own contribution.

"You mean the headquarters of a warrior sect," Zuko stated calmly, "fanatically devoted to the primary enemy of the Fire Nation? They have been ambushing our forces left and right."

"What about _us_!?" Katara screamed. "You took down our last defences, threatened Gran-Gran!" She banged her fists at the wall.

To her shock, it split open.

"Katara!" Sokka cheered. "Maybe we won't need Toph after all!" The gap in the barrier kept widening, but beyond it was just more rock as far as they could see.

"No, you won't be rid of me yet!" came the familiar squeal in response. The siblings soon realised that Toph was not liberating them. "Prince Zuko, Heir to the Throne of Pain," she called, mimicking the announcer who had been overseeing her wrestling matches. "You're down a point in this battle of the, uh, 'wits'! And remember, you need to get Katara, Sugar Queen of the Splashy Dynasty, to heal your uncle! How will you come back from this?"

The rumbling stopped, and the prisoners, or perhaps contestants, found that their enclosures had been joined together into a peanut-shaped courtyard. Zuko was standing up with his fists clenched as before, but there were no scorch marks anywhere to be seen in his cage, to Sokka's mild surprise.

He breathed a couple times, while Katara pouted at him. "I had reason to believe you were harbouring said enemy," he said, much softer. "It is war. I'm just doing for my country what you are doing for yours."

"Oh really..." Sokka folded his arms. "Zuko the patriot. I keep hearing that you were banished."

Zuko stared at the ground. "I have nothing to say to that," he nearly whispered, before pointing at the sleeping Iroh at his feet. "Katara, if you think this man deserves your gift; I beg of you to consider it. If you wish, you may inflict upon me a wound equal to what you cure on him, so that the balance is restored."

Sokka reached for his club, but Katara stopped him. "No," she said determinedly whilst stepping forward, "we aid those in need. Country or no country."

-OoOoO-

Katara finished the operation swiftly. The first good night in half a week had supplied her with life force to spare, and she was eager to stick it all in Iroh's body and make a point of the value of altruism. In no time she had finished repairing any charred flesh, joining together torn muscle, and mending the top of the skin. He would not even keep a scar from it.

Yet, despite her efforts, the man remained soundly asleep. Zuko began yelling again, a noise she had slowly learned to ignore. How could their personal demon be so pathetic in reality?

Katara scrunched her face, and pressured more of her energy into the old man's calm patterns, forcing them to assume more erratic forms. She didn't really know what she was getting herself into, but employed intuition where her knowledge ended, and guesswork when even her gut had no answer. She followed the strands of energy using every sense with which her hands came equipped – touch, heat, itch, tickle – to a node located in the centre of Iroh's head. Then, she squeezed, using more than just her fingers.

Iroh's reaction was very similar to Momo's when she had once stepped on his tail: a guttural grunt, becoming a high-pitched yelp, and with remarkable nimbleness he was upright in an instant, eyes wide open and rolling wildly. Katara was shocked: this was the first time she had ever used her healing water to wake someone. Zuko's mouth was gaping, yet still emitted no word of thanks. Though before Katara could comment on that, Iroh had promptly fallen down again.

He lay on the ground, eyes clenched shut, and whispering at the sky. "Jiade… Zuko, I need… a Jiade flower..."

"What's that? What for?" his nephew responded, "What is it!?" Katara thought that, again, she could feel actual fear in his voice and demeanour. In five minutes of sitting next to Zuko, she was learning more about him than in months of getting chased by him.

"Desert plant… common in this area… blue, red thorns… Azula hit a chi node, I need… the tea will help..."

"I will get you that flower, uncle!" Zuko got up, and looked around. The walls had been dropping to waist height, but in the commotion around Iroh's health none of them had noticed it. "Girl!" he shouted at Toph, who had revealed herself, arms crossed and still in a regal mood. "Build a wall around Iroh, while I –"

"Nope." Toph shook her head, and Katara joined her. Zuko stared at them, at his uncle, at his feet, at the sky, groaned something incomprehensible, and paced off into the sunrise.

"Can you _believe_ that stupid egg?" she heard her brother behind him, though only after said egg was no longer in sight.

Katara turned to him. "I know, and not one word of –"

"_Thank_ you," said the owner of the warm hand suddenly planted on her shoulder. She finished her turn and stared right into the warm, bright eyes of Iroh, looking as healthy as can be. "Katara, I could not begin to thank you enough, for your selfless act of saving my life."


	3. Chapter 3

Sokka found that he had been regarding the situation, and all the involved parties, with a touch more righteous suspicion than any of his party members had. His sister was kindness made flesh, and trusted Iroh personally because of some water spirit mumbo-jumbo that had largely taken place whilst he had been occupied protecting Yue. While she made no effort concealing her thoughts of Zuko, in Iroh she saw no danger.

Toph seemed to get a kick out of it, like she did with most things. She and Sokka could agree on one thing: that this unsteady alliance was an explosion waiting to happen. The difference was that she wanted to be in the front seats to witness it.

And Aang had been quiet. It was probably more universal balance nonsense at work, and he was presently away fetching Appa from where they had left him by the river, where the mighty beast had fallen asleep and had proven quite massive and unwilling to budge for a creature that was otherwise swift and light as a cloud. While Aang was perhaps not comfortable with it, he was not going to take action.

So, by the unofficial line of succession, the duty befell Sokka to make a point about trust. And Iroh, just back from the dead, laying a finger on his sister: that was a crossed line, clear and simple.

"Not today, General!" he yelled an octave higher than he had intended, and shoved his body between the two. Iroh took a step back, and he heard Katara groan behind him, but neither alleviated his suspicions in any way.

Iroh shushed him with a worried look. "Quiet Sokka, Zuko may still be within earshot."

"Nope," Toph said flatly.

"So you're not with him?" Sokka's hand, clenched around his club, relaxed the tiniest bit. "What are the flowers for?"

Iroh folded his hands, and lowered his voice. "Stories all agree that the plant will lift your spirits, even if they disagree on whether those are of the metaphorical or the physical type. Well, 'physical', as a matter of speaking. For us, the flower served to escort my nephew away from us, allowing me the privacy to talk to you all, about him specifically."

"Please tell us, what is Zuko up to?" Katara asked, but Sokka held up his hand.

"And just like that, we accept his word? I think I want to know more about _you_ first, general."

Iroh was serene as ever, and not the least bit discouraged by the disrespect. "Well, what do you think I should tell you about myself? A record of my military accomplishments? That would serve only a Fire Nation biographer."

"Or an Earth Kingdom enthusiast?" Toph yelped, putting Sokka at further unease. Between her small size and disinterested posture, it was easy to forget she was participating in the conversation.

"Young lady, you should be proud of your personal feats of strength – but not of war. War is a beast, which brings distress and disease to myriads of innocent people. It is summoned to bring about a greater purpose, but that is rarely worth the sacrifice.

"Many a citizen of the Fire Nation support the war. They feed the beast with their own hate, and do not see the damage it is causing. Even a soldier will trust his superiors to judge the morality of his unit's actions. But I went beyond that. As a general, I had no superiors. I brought violence to peaceful places, caused death and demolition: all that happened by my personal command.

"The more I witnessed of this immense damage, this pain, that the war was causing – the more I ached to end it. I pushed harder and harder to take city after city, even conquered up to the outer reaches of Ba Sing Se, so that they too could be brought under one banner and the bloodshed would finally be over.

"I and the biographers agree that Ba Sing Se is the site of my greatest failure. But, it was not my failing to conquer it, but my failure to see that in order to end the suffering, my side could not be the victor. I could not see that, until it was too late. Until, selfishly, it was _personal_ loss that drew me to that conclusion, despite all that I had encountered before."

It had gotten quiet. No bird or lizard had dared interrupt the elder, and even now they preserved a respectful silence. Sokka eyed Katara, who seemed touched, and Toph, who at least was at least not trying to say anything witty.

"Of this path I walked down," Iroh continued, "Zuko has taken a few steps himself. That is why I desperately need to talk to you – I need to ask you to help him. Help him get the Avatar obsession out of his system, by showing him the care and dignity that he has been missing for such a long time. You would lose an enemy, and gain an ally, a friend."

Sokka snorted. "I'm sorry sir, a friend? Do you know what he has been doing, personally, to us? He hasn't been following orders, or feeling regret over them as far as I can tell."

Katara shook her head. "I respect your advise, but Zuko has yet to show a sign of basic humanity. Beyond whether he can change or not, I do not think I want someone capable of such hatred anywhere near us."

"Aha – but there you have made yourself a conundrum!" He chuckled. "If Zuko were not human, then why would he ask you to take care of me, in spite of his hate of you? Unless of course he does not actually harbour any hatred for the Avatar and his associates. Either of your assumptions must be false."

Toph folded her arms and nodded, whereas Katara rubbed her forehead.

Sokka was still unconvinced. "I do not trust him not to put a fire dagger in my back, the first instance I turn it to him. Whatever his motivations, his actions speak volumes."

"Zuko's actions were always to capture the Avatar. With but a worn-down ostrich horse to his name, he clearly cannot do this now: where would he even stow him?"

"I'm sure he'll figure something out. He is not lacking experience."

"And I promise I will do my best to halt any plan of his from coming to fruition. And in the meantime, I could teach the Avatar how to bend my element, if he wishes to learn it. Surely that would be in his best interest as well?"

-OoOoO-

Crouching behind a sandy knoll, Zuko observed an enemy of the Fire Nation munching on the blue leaves. "This small lizard has", he whispered, "by deciding to nibble on the Jiade flower, taken a side in the hundred year war. Thus he has chosen for his own demise at the hands of Prince Zuko, who would never shy from serving his country by summarily executing this traitor."

He chuckled wryly at the thought of keeping up the patriot act until Iroh's health was secured. The Avatar, now temporarily the master of his uncle's fate, needed a sympathetic interpretation of their hostility if he was willing to lend Zuko a favour, and jingoism would do. It was also easy enough to mimic, from all the true loyalists who had been around him for years, filling the halls and every meeting with vainglorious rhetoric about what they were doing it all for.

Zuko concentrated, and folded his hands together, extending both his index and middle fingers. He aimed the four digits at the little reptile, breathed in, and fired. A single golden bolt, the size of an arrow and as hot as the sun, arced slightly downward as it travelled to its target. It pierced the creature's chest, and two half lizards dropped from a flower that had remained pristine, save for the bite marks.

Of course it was a falsehood based on further falsehood. A mimicry of mimicry. No officer of rank he knew of actually thought the country was worth dying for. Though extremely eager to orate pledges of allegiance to the Fire Lord and his domain at the tip of a pointy helmet, the well-recited ritual was just one of the many ways to gain respect and favour from those who might be deceived by it; including the Fire Lord himself, they hoped in vain. Obviously Ozai knew just as well as Zuko that anyone with a brain was in it for themselves, and he would not hire any other. The trick was putting their personal ambitions in line with his own.

He stepped forward and examined the fallen enemy of the state. Both pieces still wiggled, like bay leaves in a boiling pot. The war engine was a sum of arrogant parts, most of which could never hope to control the direction all by themselves. The bare hope that had guided Prince Zuko for two years, ten months and a day; the chance of family, honour and success: the one and only deeply personal objective he had ever thought within reach to achieve, among the millions of factors he had no control about; that was easy enough to forget about and leave himself an affable fool.

Until the opportune moment.


	4. Chapter 4

"So how do we defeat the Fire Nation?" The mistrust in Sokka's his voice had been replaced with the quivering of opportunity. "What are the weak points, the secrets? Tell me which brick to remove from the iron wall of the fleet, to make them all topple; or sink…" He sighed as he ran out of metaphor, but gestured excitedly for an answer.

Iroh turned to Toph. "Are you convinced you can sense his approach before he could hear anything we say?"

"Sure."

He turned back and breathed in. Sokka's eyes were platter-sized and sparkling, and Katara paid attention too.

"Now."

Sokka groaned, interrupted by a kick in his side from his sister. "The best tea leaves come from the stem of the flower," Iroh murmured, coughing to get his voice hoarser. "They do not get as much sunlight as the ones on top; but they try just as hard, and become more flavourful in the process."

The four maintained the faux tea conversation for several minutes, without getting any visual confirmation of Toph's senses. "I think now it would be in character for me to ask for a more interesting subject," Sokka interjected, earning a frown from everyone else.

"Of course it does not reflect badly on your _character_ to dislike Jasmine," Katara replied with somewhat exaggerated intonation and volume. "There's people who love Oolong, those who prefer Green tea, and some who just adore Chrysanthemum above all; yet they all have a place in, uh, the balance of the universe."

"I think we will get along just fine!" Iroh patted her shoulder with strength not expected from a soldier closer so far past his prime. She struggled to hold up a grin.

"That is 'good' to hear," Zuko spoke, dripping with sarcasm, and he emerged from the side of the town opposite where he had left. He had the bird horse with him, carrying two bags: one much heavier than the other but both equally full.

"I relieved every Jiade cactus from here to Ba Sing Se of their petals, Uncle. And here's some animals that attempted to get between me and them; they might make for provisions, even if one of you doesn't eat meat." He placed the latter bag before Katara.

"Why thank you Zuko," she said with what looked almost like a smile. "Perhaps you would be so kind to roast them for us too?"

"How do you think I slew them? They are already cooked." His face was plain as a blank piece of parchment. "I have nothing more I can offer. Does this conclude our transaction?"

Her face turned to a thunder cloud. Even Sokka could not resist loudly coughing, in a way that sounded like the words _thank you_. He did not twitch a muscle.

"Afraid not, Nephew!" That did make him twitch. "She healed my wound but the spiritual energies are tied in a nasty knot! The Jiade will help, but I will not make it far if I don't get extended treatment!"

Zuko groaned. "Uncle, I admit that I am not the metaphysical type, but I have never heard of spirits being disrupted by a flesh wound before. Or of a teenager being able to put them back together."

"Oh no, it was her amateurish healing that threw them all off," Iroh said, "a forgivable mistake, and from inexperience no doubt; but where are you going to find a better water healer in the middle of the desert?"

The pressure was cooking, as were the two young benders. It was Toph's turn to shiver with anticipation, waiting for jets of flame and water to start flying everywhere. Rocks churned beneath her feet, and she sunk slightly to gain a more stable position for when it all exploded.

"Zuko, let's have a little private talk." Iroh gestured at a house on the other side of town.

-OoOoO-

It was a free-standing building, and the second story had a trustworthy wooden floor. No vibrations would escape the room, and no witnesses could get close without being in plain sight.

"Uncle."

"Just to be clear," Iroh hurriedly whispered, "obviously I am playing up this spirits thing. As good as I can tell, I am in tip-top shape: but Katara sees me as a sage and lacks the experience to dispute what I say. I am sorry about the flowers; I had to get a private moment with them right away, in order to make this work."

"I suspected as much," Zuko said with soft resignation. "Do you wish to keep a closer eye on them?"

"On Aang. Get you in the position you need, in order to take your decision."

"Katara is right, you are wise," he said solemnly. Iroh smiled and bowed his head. "But I must ask for some more clarity, about this 'decision'. You have never been much in support of my quest for the Avatar, only of me as a person. I am grateful for the assistance but I need to know the motive behind it."

"Are you asking if you can trust me?"

Zuko threw his hands in his hair. "I do not know what I am asking, I… What, what is your goal?"

"To facilitate your growth," he said, eternally calm. "You need to decide what you want to do with Aang. That is his name, and you can start using it, rather than the title. You cannot grow any further until you have dealt with him, and this is an opportunity I daren't let pass."

"Does this mean I can count on your assistance?"

"Fully." His eyes, between wrinkle and hairy eyebrow, stared at his with more fire than he could conjure up, and Zuko knew it was the truth.

"Then, thank you. I will do my best to make it work." He folded his hands, and started getting up.

"Don't thank me; thank Katara! Don't you think it is long overdue?"

He exhaled through his nose, and bowed his head. "On the subject of courteousness," he added after a pause, "there is something I must ask of you."

Iroh shrugged, and asked what it was.

"You are a sociable man, and I trust you to put effort in making them trust you. But do not start answering all their questions, and risk revealing any intimate information about me, yourself, or the Fire Nation."

"Friend, that's a broad classification if I've ever heard one. There is much they could know: such as select portions of the truth, which would make us look more sympathetic in their eyes."

"Talk about the weather. About tea, Pai Sho, perhaps military life in general. But nothing personal, and nothing that could conceivably put any of us at risk."

-OoOoO-

Two actors walked toward each other, both thrown into a role far outside their wishes, and completely stiff with vaguely veiled disgust for each other. Iroh, Toph and Sokka stayed back, unwilling to participate for different reasons for each.

"Katara, I thank you for healing my uncle, and apologise for my earlier misbehaviour and disrespect." He paused, realising his teeth were obviously clenched together, and he tried relaxing them a little. "I would be most appreciative if you could continue to do so. For the given time, until his health is restored, I can try to make myself useful for your party."

"Zuko, your apology is… accepted." Nothing in the world could force her to say any more lies.

"I love it when people find each other!" Iroh cheered, pacing for them, and both stepped aside to avoid being thrown into a collective hug which he was clearly aiming at. "Now, for a question that might throw this new trust in jeopardy but nevertheless is worth asking…" He held up his hands. "Where is Aang now?"

"He should have gotten back," Sokka mumbled. "More than hour ago."


	5. Chapter 5

Aang was surprised to see a new structure jutting up from the middle of the main street. It was a single rock, shaped like a jagged dagger and exceeding even the local minaret in height. Normally such an arrogant feat of construction would be offending the monks, but since there hadn't been any for years, he felt it was safe to explore it, and in two leaps he reached the top.

"What did I miss?" he asked Toph, who was hunched at the peak, looking down vaguely contemplative.

She sighed. "Not much. Nothing really happened."

Aang folded his arms. "Let's start with the fact that we're standing on a mountain that wasn't here when I left this morning to get Appa."

"Didn't you make me a referee? How else was I gonna get a good view."

"Of what?"

"Nothing, I said!" Toph stamped her feet, cracking the rock below. Aang was as concerned about her temper, as he was about the structural integrity of the platform. "Nothing happened. Infuriatingly so."

He stared down towards the town square below them, and was puzzled by two new earthworks in opposing corners. It also provoked a mild flush of jealousy. He could travel far, but Toph could conjure up a house wherever she wanted. It was about time he learned the same. "What are those?" he asked, his patience fading.

"Arena. Even better than the one I made this morning."

He rubbed his forehead. "Are you _sure_ I didn't miss anything?"

"I told you!" More cracks in the ground. "Nothing but boring talking and talking, and most of it among themselves. Didn't you say that you guys had legendary fights with this guy and his family?"

"What are they talking about?"

"Well, Sugar and Stupid are in the bunker to the left. And it's a beautiful bunker - I put it close to the well so they've got ammunition - but they rewarded my tireless efforts by arguing with each other, how Zuko could possibly have done it, and why, and what they could -"

"Done what?"

Toph looked back at him, presenting a mighty frown, as if her gestures and voice hadn't sold her vexation yet. "Kidnap you. You were late."

His reverence passed away in an instant, swept away by the wave of realisation. "Ugh! And you, rather than suggest they come find me; you built them an arena?"

"Well initially it felt like they were gonna use it."

Aang groaned, knowing that there was little he could do to educate the girl, and leapt down to the centre of the square, amplifying the sound of his landing for good measure. He did the same to his voice, and shouted: "Guys, it's okay! This time I'm not kidnapped, or captured, or stuck in a ball of ice!"

"A welcome change of habit!" Iroh shouted heartily, while Sokka made a tired comment about wishing a block of ice. All four left their bunkers, and surprisingly the oldest among them moved the lightest.

"Sorry, it was just the logical conclusion…" Katara threw a suspicious glance at Zuko, before relief returned to her face. "But what took you so long?"

"Well, someone else _was_ kidnapped." His voice lowered, and he looked at his feet, but then at Zuko and Iroh, not entirely certain what to make of their presence. "Are they sticking around?"

"Seems so," Toph mumbled, having descended from her hillock behind them. Much like the final crack of a dying fire, she threw her fists downward, and with a sharp crack followed by a drawn-out rumble it collapsed into a pile of pebbles.

"Did you find your sky cow?" Zuko's single comment drew the ireful looks of Katara and Sokka, and he put a step backwards, lowering his head and displaying some faux-regret for having dared to open his mouth.

Aang looked at him. He could only guess at what had transpired between him, Iroh, and Aang's companions, for his presence to be treated as the new status quo, but the result was all the same. Zuko was with them; the same Zuko who had chased down each of them for months, over the entire globe, catching up to them at various occasions. Every encounter had ended in violence; even the one when he, clad in a dark suit and a blue opera mask, had liberated him from Zhao's clutches and the prospect of a lifelong imprisonment.

But was it the same Zuko? There appeared to be little left of him; he had lost his ponytail and a great amount of weight, and his eyes, though not one bit dimmer, were sunken into his skull to such an extent that it was hard not to take a pity on him.

The time would come to understand their precise arrangement, and the miraculous events that had lead up to it, but he had promised Zuko that, under different circumstances, they could have been friends. In the abandoned town in the middle of the desert, this was the last place he would go back on his promise. "If they are with us to stay," he said with confidence, "then I think we can forge some much-needed trust if we all together go find the missing mammal."

-0o0o0-

Appa sneezed in mid-flight, and a few more stubborn leaves were duly expelled from his fur. It was a hairy variety of greenery, much like himself, and he would likely be foilaged until they hit a tornado, to his and his passengers' dismay.

And a diverse set of passengers it was.

"So it's Momo who was taken," Sokka asked incredulously. He was scratching his head with one hand while gently leaning the other on the saddle railing, which Iroh still clutched tensely enough to whiten his wrinkled knuckles. Zuko too looked stiff as a board, and Toph and Katara had taken turns commenting on the altitude and pointing out specific clouds to him, even if the latter had stopped when she had noticed Iroh's disquiet.

But by far the least comfortable of Appa's new freight was Zuko's ostrich horse: even bound and blindfolded, he could not be kept still without Aang leaving his usual seat on the bison's head and petting the animal with care the skinny creature had evidently been lacking. Although, he was forced to realise, the horse did not look mistreated: just underfed, like his owner.

He looked at his companions, more snug than usual on the crowded saddle. "I camouflaged Appa over and walked him back. Whichever forces managed to kidnap Momo, they're obviously really powerful, and I did not want to risk facing them alone." He grinned a broad smile at the two newest members. "And you two are welcome too!"

"And we will do our best," Iroh said carefully. He paused, looking worriedly at the skies once more before fixing his gaze on Aang. "To make ourselves useful, that is. Which will be easier on the ground, I say!"

"We're flying to the crime scene, though I did already investigate it thoroughly." Sokka raised an eyebrow, but Aang didn't let him interject. "I already found several lemur-sized traps. One of which had been recently re-set."

He jumped up, and scoured the saddle from end to end; gesturing people to move and let him look under them. Only Zuko refused to do that; he hadn't moved a muscle since boarding. Aang shook his head, and then finally found a packaged bundle underneath the ostrich horse's tail feathers. It whinnied softly as he unpacked and presented the small wooden contraption.

The design was typical; a cage with a door that would shut itself behind whatever creature had been tempted by the berries placed inside. It would not harm its victim, but leave it trapped for the poacher to retrieve - as one evidently had, the very same morning, apparently right before Aang had found his bison.

Sokka bent over the trap with no less hunger than Momo would have had for the fruit inside, and examined it twice from every angle. "You're not letting us get a look at it," Katara protested, but he only waggled his finger at her, and Aang knew to let him. Iroh made a comment about patience, and Zuko was habitually silent.

After a full minute of intensifying frowns from his sister, he finally abated, and put the thing down with his chin raised in brazen pomposity. "Ladies and gentlemen," he declared proudly, "we're going to Whale Tail Island."

A splash of ennui descended down upon the other party members, by which some were physically pushed back into their seats. "Dare I ask why?" Toph said, adequately representing the collective with her lethargic snark.

"There's whale bone in it." He held out his palms, presenting his irrefutable conclusion. "And it's not Water Tribe design. So tell me, where else are you going to find whales?"

"But one must first wonder, why one would put whale bone in a lemur trap," Iroh said, scratching in his beard. "I crafted those knickknacks when I was a youngster. You can put them together from strings and twigs; this one is _exorbitantly _fancy." Sokka was silenced by that remark, and rubbed his own chin where, to his dismay, only soft fuzz was present.

Katara turned the thing around, and expressed her agreement with the statement. Besides the bone elements, the wood was lacquered and the hinge well-oiled. It looked to belong more in a museum than a forest. She was ready to pass it to Aang when she noticed a single character inscribed in the floor of the cage.

"Yep, that's our other clue," Sokka remarked before she had had a chance to comment on it. "But I can't read it. That sign didn't come up in any of the scrolls we had to read at the South Pole."

Aang scratched his bald scalp. "I don't recognise it either; but my literacy is a hundred years out of date."

"And it's almost that long for me," Iroh chuckled after giving it a look. "But this looks like a seal - and they invent new ones whenever they establish new families, companies, towns…" He passed it to his nephew, as the other three conversed about what place or person it could refer to. There were a number of settlements nearby that were in range for poachers, not to mention families and private individuals. It would be a long search for a single lemur.

"I would hate to comment," Zuko mumbled. Every eye looked at him, except for Toph who had been staring before herself for the entire conversation, and the ostrich horse who could look at nothing under the blindfold. "But I recognise that sign. Saw it not far from here, when I was passing by last week."

"Listen, if this is..." Katara began irefully, but Zuko wouldn't let her finish.

"So now I kidnapped the monkey too!?" He spread out his arms, and ended up hitting his horse and uncle on their respective flanks, compelling both to hilariously similar snorts. "I am with you guys for the moment, whether we all like it or not. Which we obviously don't. But be reasonable, for one second."

"Thank you Zuko," Aang said after a brief pause. "Where are we headed?"

"South," he replied, and he closed his eyes with a groan. "Follow the river, left at the bifurcation, and then it's the first town with two bridges." They turned, and continued the voyage in silence.


	6. Chapter 6

A quagmire of crowds, and the cacophony of sounds, smells - and taste, when Sokka had tripped over a loose fire ferret and experienced a mouthful of market sand - felt like a wet blanket had been thrown over their faces. Although the city of Tamuzen was barely worthy of the term, its population almost doubled with the entry of the seasonal trade caravan, and the many inhabitants of surrounding villages that came over to make use of their temporary market stalls.

Iroh was enchanted. He paused to investigate every third stand, and while the party had initially made good use of the delay to scrutinise the surroundings for the enigmatic glyph - being barely aided by Zuko's spiritless advice where he had last seen it a week ago - his stops were growing burdensome on their progress, to the point where even Aang cleared his throat when Iroh examined the fifth tea shop of the day.

"We better split up," he proposed distractedly. Toph immediately offered to accompany the elder, stating the obvious fact that she would not be much use in their quest for a written symbol, and they made a half-vocalised arrangement for when they would regroup near the cave in which Aang had carefully hidden Appa. The bison did not appreciate the underground, certainly not after their experience with the secret tunnel, but where careful persuasion hadn't helped them any further, Toph had, by moving the ground on which he stood deeper inside the riverside hillock.

Iroh also took the reins of Zuko's ostrich horse, which they needed to sell regardless. He promised to bargain a good price for the famished animal, and just like that, Team Avatar was making monetary agreements with the brother of the Fire Lord, and allowing him to leave them alone with the prince.

"Did we really think this through?" Katara whispered in Aang's ear, and he could not offer much assurance but a hesitant nod. They had escaped the cramped marketplace into more a deserted yet luxurious housing district, and just as he was about to propose turning back to check on Iroh's progress, Sokka annoyingly discovered their mystery glyph inscribed in a granite gateway.

"Master Bing's residence", he read from the remaining, legible characters on the sign. "I take it he's a patrician of sorts, going by the quality of the stone?"

"Or by his house being three times the size of his neighbours'," Zuko mumbled. He had gotten more comfortable opening his mouth during their cooperative search, while remaining quite conscious of his position among the others.

"He's rich, but you're the Avatar," Katara assured him. "We're going to get Momo back in no time, and then…" She glanced at Sokka, Team Avatar's unofficial schedulekeeper.

"...train Aang in earthbending?" he suggested tentatively. "Though we just left behind his tutor, so…" He scratched his head. "You know, someday we're gonna have to figure out a long-term plan..." Again he halted, glancing at their newest teammate, who would be extremely interested in their destination, Aang surmised. He knocked on the gate, and it dropped into the ground before his fist had hit it a second time.

"Nifty," Zuko said with honest appreciation for the mechanism, and the four progressed into an opulent garden. There was no guide but the single path offered a clear route to the main residence, even if it was excessively windy and curved around an extraordinarily variegated array of fauna, originating from all over the Earth Kingdom.

Master Bing was clearly incredibly wealthy, but they could not discern a real taste in all the plants they came across. They each individually looked marvellous, but the patch of panda lilies besides an arrangement of scarlet bindweed, their colours clashing horribly, betrayed that Bing seemed to care more about owning these exotic specimens than he did about adorning a garden with them. Aang, the most aesthetically minded of them, groaned at some of the combinations and had to physically press a more agreeable expression on his face when they neared the actual entrance, knowing that some level of courtesy would be necessary in order to get his lemur back.

Right before they could knock a second time, the ornate wooden door opened to reveal a man, dressed in a trimmed suit of black, gold and olive that many a king would find too pompous - yet the deepness of his bow left no doubt about his occupation in the household. "Good afternoon," he spoke in refined tones, like he had chewed and lubricated each syllable before carefully expelling it from between perfectly porcelain teeth. His hair was thoroughly oiled until it was blacker than tar, and Aang wondered what Master Bing would look like, if his butler was this groomed. "Might I humbly inquire, good sirs and madam, as to the nature of the Avatar's visit to our modest establishment?"

Sokka snorted. "Well if this is modest, then I don't know what ramshackle slums the surrounding mansions are!"

Aang frowned at him, and made a courtesy bow, which the others quickly repeated. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir, though you have us at a disadvantage."

The servant smiled a smile that had been measured out with a ruler. "I beg your forgiveness, young master Avatar. My name is Guge. We have eyes at the front gate at all hours, as Master Bing values his privacy, but a person carrying your tattoos is one welcome at any time." He nodded at them with an anticipating expression.

Katara reached inside Sokka's bag as she addressed his unspoken question. "We have come here to return something of Bing's, and would like the favour returned, for he unwittingly took something of ours." She exposed the trap, and Guge was stricken with recognition - and even that face seemed rehearsed.

"Of course; if you would be so kind to follow me," he spoke without a moment's hesitation, and he proceeded into an alleyway stuffed with artwork from every corner on the globe. Just about everything that could conceivably be put on a wall was present, and this was just the entrance hall.

"Master Bing is an avid collector," Guge said, as if that fact wasn't entirely obvious, "but he has great tolerance for the local peasants, whose pets are often careless enough to step into his traps. We have a protocol in place for the reimbursement." That last word worried Aang, but Guge ignored his tentative protests and began explaining Bing's lineage, which apparently dated back to the original architect of the walls of Ba Sing Se.

The house was nothing short of a palace, but whereas Bumi's halls were grand and designed with some consistency in the architecture, Bing's "modest establishment" featured a different interior for each of the many narrow rooms they progressed through. No vertical surface was left barren, and after a minute they noticed that even the ceilings were similarly adorned with various artworks and artefacts. Katara recognised a ritual mask from the Southern Water Tribe, and Guge paused to explain where Bing's great-great-grandfather had acquired the relic. He was appreciative of her recognition, but Aang grew less contented with Bing's collection. He began seeing stuffed animal heads on alabaster plaques, each detailing where they had been slain and by which member of the Bing dynasty.

"We are looking for a flying lemur," he said, interrupting Guge telling about the birth house of Bing's maternal grandmother. "Captured early this morning in the woods near Tu Zin. He's from the Southern Air Temple, and probably rare, but we would much appreciate having him back… and in one piece, if it's not too much trouble."

"You will be reimbursed for your animal," Guge explained with the patience of a school teacher. "I think Yeo-hu went there today to check on our traps, which are just a few of the many hundreds we have been setting up here ever since Master Bing took up residence in Tamuzen. The creatures unworthy of his collection are of course released back into the wild." He glanced at Aang coldly. "We are going to the aviary. If you can find your lemur and prove that it is yours, then you will be granted a fair market price for the animal."

"What he is missing," Sokka said, "is the option to have Momo returned to him. Alive." Aang and Katara nodded, and Zuko tried his best to do an intimidating face. His scar did a lot of the threatening for him.

Guge began shaking his head, but his eyes widened and voice deepened, as serious as if he was conspiring an act of regicide. "Fortunately for you, Master Bing is home today. If you wish to arrange for a _breach_ of protocol…" Guge visibly shuddered at the thought, "then you would have to escalate the matter to him personally. He might even allow an audience out of his schedule for the Avatar."

"Even Bumi was more hospitable," Sokka mumbled, but Aang bit his lip. He did not doubt their odds of liberating Momo by force, if that turned out necessary, but after spending fifteen minutes walking through his madhouse, he was transfixed by the remarkable lord and more than curious to meet the man, to see if he could be reasoned with.

"Yes, we would appreciate that. So where are we headed?"

"Still to the aviary," Guge dryly noted. "His excellency is scheduled to be there till the fifth hour past noon, experimenting with artificial flight."


	7. Chapter 7

Guge opened door number twelve, and disappeared into the sudden brightness pouring in. But where his reluctant companions staggered back and squinted from the new light, Zuko closed his eyes and felt slightly reinvigorated by what he immediately recognised as sunshine. It was a subtle feeling, like a single static spark injected in his bloodstream, but enough to put him at ease not just physically, but mentally. His mind had been spinning in circles coming up with schemes to make use of the bizarre state of affairs.

Just being in the presence of his target of three years… he had kept quiet not just because he expected to be shouted at. His hands were shaking, and not all of the sweat gathering in his stolen garment was from the heat.

Aang had been unwisely welcoming, actively involving him in their quest for the pet and persuading his friends to do the same. His amiability was useful, just in being allowed to stay near them, but also disconcerting. For three years he had been practising his bending in the wind and rain, to simulate an enemy wielding those elements. But what he had not been preparing for, was a target with a grin and a sense of humour.

"How…" Sokka said with a quiver, pulling him out of his thoughts. "We climbed three staircases and descended one, but now we are level with the ground again?" Zuko followed him through the doorway, and was similarly bewildered by the sight of an expanse of grassland stretching out behind and beneath them.

"Your confusion is perfectly reasonable; neither the floors inside nor the meadow outside is perfectly horizontal," Guge spoke with what could be mistaken for glee. He took it as an excuse to tell about the original owner of the house, an Omashu general who had slowly lost his mind, and the party promptly stopped listening.

The scenery was infinitely more captivating than Guge's genealogy lesson. The main structure of Master Bing's mansion was U-shaped, which they had evidently entered in one leg and exited in the other, and now they looked at the interior, which normal buildings of this shape would pave over and fashion with a fountain and a pavillion or two. But Bing - or the general who had built it - had welcomed the nature in his domain. Hills of emerald rolled out of the courtyard and descended down to a secluded valley. There were no more mismatched patches of flowers, but just a spread of grassland, bespeckled with wild shrubbery and the occasional oak or cherry blossom, stretching out into the distance until where a modest stone wall formed an artificial horizon, framing the whole in marble.

Zuko saw Aang sigh and his shoulders lower as he took it in, and wondered if he was going to fly off, sit on a cloud and meditate on the beauty of nature. He did take a couple steps forward and stared around with the excitement of a child - which he was, to be fair.

"I beg your forgiveness for the unkemptness of Master Bing's internal garden," Guge said soberly as he descended along a cobblestone path. "We have yet to collect enough blossoming plants to fill up this area with more appropriate verdancy." He gestured to a section to his left, which was another incongruous patch of expensive greenery, maintained with expertise but arranged without the slightest sense of taste.

Aang halted and let Guge take the lead while he let his friends catch him. "Guys, this may sound ridiculous," he whispered hurriedly, "but is there any way we could buy this place? This could be the Spirit World, and Bing will just ruin it with his insane flower hoarding..." Katara shook her head in shared sorrow, and Zuko nearly grew a smile. Rather than chase him, he should have been setting traps at the most impressive vistas.

With the most rehearsed of coughs, Guge requested that they keep up, and the Avatar's pleasure faded more when he saw where they were headed. Just below the rim of a hillock, right besides the outer wall, were built a series of metal cages, ranging in size from shoebox to apartment, and all of them stuffed with all kinds of fauna. One of the larger cages held nothing but herbivores, and a series of smaller ones contained one predator each; none of them had enough room to take as much as a breath without bumping into the walls or their fellow prisoners.

"This one is the aviary," Guge announced, and his voice was strange without the veneer of pride with which he had described every other element of the household. He pointed at a cage filled with every possible creature equipped with the power of flight: several hundred animals locked in a room; some unmoving and lying on the ground, others flying tired circles in their confined space. "We keep these animals here until they can be properly skinned and stuffed," he duly explained. "Master Bing has occupied every taxidermist in Tamuzen, and it takes a couple days until the newest arrivals can get their turn."

He gestured the shocked Aang towards the entrance of the aviary. "Find your lemur, Master Avatar, and I shall attempt to locate Master Bing. I had expected to find his excellency here, but there are a few alternative places to look while you look for your pet."

Time slowed to a crawl. Aang moved like he was submerged in honey, and not just from the onset of depression at the sight of the animal cruelty. Zuko stared at the lock mechanism Guge opened with a long metal key, after which he turned back to go find his master. There were ten paces between the Avatar and a cage, and Zuko's thoughts rushed like a whirlpool to find a way to take advantage of the situation.

Their approach had driven the birds to begin making an unbearable cacophony of shrieks and whistles, and the larger animals in the surrounding cages joined in with lower tones. His ears were hurting but he would not move a finger to cover them; he only watched Aang move on towards the door. It was a double doorway, he would pass through one, close it behind him and then open the mesh of metal separating him from two hundred feathered fiends and the possibility of one lemur. With every step, Zuko was sure he could hear the pebbles crack underneath, even with the barrage of animal noises assaulting his eardrums.

Aang had passed through the first door, and Zuko had followed. He glanced to his sides, and found that he could not locate either of his companions. It was of little consequence - he was certain he could take on both in a brawl, especially this far from any water. The creatures were not even supplied with a drinking trough - this was their purgatory. And it would be the Avatar's.

Aang had closed the first door behind him, and between the bars Zuko saw him scanning the frenzied flock for his own creature. He had clutched the handle of the second door with a quivering hand, and lowered it.

Suddenly, there was a man; dressed in Guge's colours, but armour instead of a robe. It didn't help him in the slightest: Zuko tackled him to the ground with almost no effort or thought, his eyes were not even leaving the back of Aang's head, whose own were still at the birds. Leaning his knee on the guard's throat, Zuko reached for the lock on the outer door.

It was uncannily easy. He twisted the metal knob, and a click, which he sensed more than he heard it, proclaimed that the doorway was shut solid. Only Guge's key could liberate the Avatar, who had closed the second door and was separated from freedom by a patchwork of metal bars each as thick as his thumb. He saw a small komodo rhino in a different cage with the same make-up, and knew this was an adequate prison for even the most powerful human on the planet.

Zuko sighed, and removed himself from the mystery man who had already passed out from lack of breath. He would have to deal with him later. The task was finished. Aang was still not even aware of his imprisonment; of the end of the entire war. Zuko would be home by springtime.

He staggered back, and cast one last sideways glance, expecting an assault by the waterbending girl or her even less competent brother. Dealing with them was the first step. Step two was figuring out how to subdue the Avatar in a way that was more mobile; step three involved transporting him to the Fire Nation while avoiding Azula; and step four was…

...dodging the giant slab of rock hurled in his direction.

His lurch to the back was as late as it was fruitless, and after a painful encounter with the stone he found himself to be hurtling over the compounded dirt besides the cages. Still in mid-air he caught a glimpse of the familiar, by now dreaded black-and-golden uniform, and with all his rage and boiling energy he threw a ball of fire at the shape.

It turned out to be his salvation. Not because the attack landed anywhere near its intended target, but because the recoil was enough to slam him against the metal, which he instinctively held on to. It was a wise decision, because there suddenly was a gaping hole in the ground where he would have landed, and been swallowed by the earth.

Those responsible for the calamity quickly revealed themselves over the horizon. Five, six… a dozen, three dozen uniformed guards. A small platoon of them, and clearly skilled in their element. More stones were coming his way.

But there were not all in formation yet. Zuko hesitated for no longer, and launched as much fire as he could to the soldiers closest to his exit route. They threw up barriers in protection, and by the time they lowered them once more, he gone ran between them, through the nearest doorway, back into the psychotic castle.


	8. Chapter 8

Aang was stewing in wrath. Bing had kidnapped hundreds of animals and kept them in inhumane conditions; only so he could mount their heads on his already cramped walls. And without the slightest veneer of style at that! The lord's actions were starting to vex him more than anything Zuko had ever done. He couldn't demand Bing's abdication or him stopping the poachery, given that safeguarding animal welfare was not part of the Avatar's job description; but without having even met him, every fibre of his body wished him stripped of his wealth and confined to a desolate mountaintop until he learned to behave.

He rubbed his eyes, and the red-tinted birds, ground, cage and air around him returned to their regular colours. It was not going to help exploding into a ball of Avatar-state violence. It was the last thing he wanted, especially when he was looking so closely into the innocent eyes of his likely victims, their screeches now almost deafening to him.

It was too much. Aang covered his ears again, much more fervidly than before. Before he knew what he was doing, he had cast a sphere of revolving, densified air around his head; the kind he would often conjure on the ground and ride. It took a few tweaks to the airflow to prevent his collar from fluttering too much, but it resulted in a sound-proof barrier around his face. The violent ruckus was reduced to a whispered choir. He grinned in satisfaction, and with his auditory sense protected, he would have a much easier time searching for Momo. Easy being a relative term; the cage was still overfull and no animal would sit still. Picking out his lemur would be like finding the last cube of cheese in a bowl of pea soup. He looked for Sokka and Katara behind him, to see if they had had any luck from the outside.

But there was nobody outside the cage. _His_ cage, he steadily realised as he scoured the surroundings for his friends. A burst of orange light came from besides the wall; and as he turned his head he just saw the source, Zuko, flee inside. Was he responsible for his imprisonment? He was being pursued down by a whole platoon of soldiers, making it unclear who had started the scuffle.

But he quickly found out the result: his door had indeed been locked. This was an ambush. Three dozen earthbenders now stood outside; each wearing clothing akin to Guge's outfit, but with hardened plates in the place of satin, and helmets that did not reveal any more of their face than a sliver of their eyes. The ones not chasing Zuko had positioned themselves in a circle around him, standing still as statues; but all with a solid, intimidating pose, one which he had last seen used by The Boulder. These guards meant business, but part of their business was a show of intimidation, and they were good at it.

With a sigh of relief, he discovered his remaining teammates; though the feeling was of short duration when he discovered their situation. Katara and Sokka had each been transported to one of the three smaller cages, containing predators. Sokka was trapped with a baby goat gorilla, and Katara shared her confined space with a temperful crococat. A third one held just an animal, and he figured Zuko was supposed to have been put there; but he had noticed the trap before any of them, and escaped it in time. He cursed the shrieking birds, who had kept him from noticing what had transpired behind his back.

There was movement in the people behind him, but Aang ignored it - he could barely hear them anyway - in favour of finding a way to reach his friends, who were in much more immediate need of attention. He thought for a moment, and then carefully conjured a tube of air, curving and reaching for them like the tendrils of the uncomfortably animate plants they had encountered in the Foggy Swamp. With some effort and a great deal of concentration, scrunching up his face and biting his lip, he reached both their heads and formed an enclosed space for all three of them; sparing them from the ear-aching clamour outside and enabling communication.

"The crococat doesn't bite unless provoked; give him space!" Aang shouted to Katara, who quickly curled herself into a corner. It was easier said than done; the cage was not nearly tall enough to stand, and not much wider than it was high. "Just be nice to the goat gorilla; remember Flopsy!" Aang added, projecting his voice more in Sokka's direction. Sokka nodded, remembering Bumi's pet, but he seemed not at all at ease with the horned, long-eared primate confined with him.

Aang could now hear tapping and resultant clings; his metal confinement rang in a tone so clear and attuned that he considered the thought that Bing had, purposely, made his poaching equipment double as a musical instrument. He elected to ignore it completely; his friends needed him more than some Earth Kingdom mogul. He could not hear much of what was said behind him anyway; probably something about honour and world domination, if he continued the trend set by his previous captors.

"I cannot get out!" Sokka used his right hand to rattled the metal bars in their sockets, his left carefully stroking his furry cellmate, but they were each as thick as his thumb and would not budge. "We were right behind you, when the ground opened up and swallowed me whole; and where it spewed me out, I was made prisoner."

"And I did not bring any water," Katara added with composure but not with confidence. There was no liquid near them, and nothing they could use to saw through the cage.

Suddenly, Aang was lifted by the earth on which he stood, launching him at the roof. He narrowly avoided hard impact with an airblast and a feat of acrobatics which would have guaranteed him a place in any circus had this been an audition. "What!?" he bellowed at the new figure standing between his captors, amplifying his voice for good measure. He was trapped, but he could make clear how little he appreciated that.

-0o0o0-

Could one even hide from an earthbender? Even after a hundred year of war, the Fire Nation army treatises disagreed with one another about the extent of their heightened senses. Mun Kai's _Lecture on the True Art of Self-Defence_ patiently debunked every such story about the luggers of dirt - its preferred term for the bending citizens of the world's largest kingdom. _Soldier's Companion_ by Fu Piandao - the estranged father of the legendary bladesmith - was more respected among many scholars, and it regarded the precise capabilities of the earthbenders, specifically the more advanced ones, with more respect and caution. It noted that some of these benders might be able to sense the tremor of a heartbeat and find their prey in pitch darkness from a league away, with the addendum that the average soldier of Omashu would probably be lucky to feel a giant rhinoceros beetle's footsteps before the giant creature showed up to bite his head off.

Different generals trusted different books, but Zuko favoured Piandao's interpretation. Most of the first edition of his book had been suspiciously lost, and evidence indicated that it had been purposely destroyed by Earth Kingdom agents. The information the enemy did not want you to know was likely to be closer to the truth; so Zuko held his breath and every other part of his body he had control over. He could not stop his heart from pulsing, but tried everything he could to be perfectly quiet until the soldier passing by his hiding place was out of sight.

Zuko's body was right against the ceiling, kept in position by the pressure of his hand and feet against two beams keeping the roof up. He tried to ignore his muscles going sore, and counted eight people running inside and back out of his room, followed by two more careful fellows, who opened every closet and looked under the table for the missing member of the Avatar's party. But they did not look up.

Or were they looking for the Fire Prince? His scar was as famous as Aang's arrow; whatever ransom Bing intended to net for the Avatar, he could hope for another small fortune for himself. Hope in vain, at least. Ozai would not pay a single silver coin to have an honourless son returned to him.

The eleventh guardsman was older, his scalp balding - which Zuko could only see because the man strangely lacked a helmet. But he recognised the wrinkled forehead and calm gait, even from the unusual angle, and when he was certain this man in his ill-fitting uniform was all by himself, he expelled the smallest flame from his mouth; like a drop of saliva, a tiny bolt that went before the man's face and barely reached the floor before being snuffed out from exposure.

The fake guard did not even look up. He stayed in the room, rummaging with the sparse furniture and taking his time to even open every drawer, ostensibly looking for Zuko. Once someone opened the door, and he asserted that there was nobody to be seen, followed by an excuse to be left in the room for a little longer. After a whole minute of silence, Zuko let himself drop to the wooden floor, and wasted no time to embrace his uncle.

"Something has gone terribly wrong, Uncle," Zuko said. "I do not know his precise motivations, but right as I had managed to lock the Avatar in the most inviting cage; Master Bing beat me to it."

"Or Bing was responsible for leading him to said cage in the first place," Iroh whispered. "I must tell you about him, now that we have a moment to ourselves."

He opened a shutter, and they were looking over at the collection of cages, some of them holding Aang and his friends. "I did not recognise his seal right away, but after I followed you to the mansion and saw his handwriting on the wall, it was obvious."

"Where is the young girl?" Zuko asked. "The earthbender; she could be real useful now."

"Spending the money we got for your ostrich horse," he said with a chuckle, one which Zuko deemed audacious, given the circumstances. He frowned at his uncle, who quickly responded: "Honestly, I did not expect this welcome, even after recognising the name."

"Then who, is Lord Bing?"

"A collaborator." Iroh sighed and looked at the gnarly oaken wall. "Five years ago Neibeo Bing struck a deal with Colonel Tagawa, my then-subordinate, as we were planning the invasion of the eastern Earth Kingdom." He turned and searched the room in honest, after having been faking it for the last few minutes.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, and he ceased. "Sorry, I was going to draw it out, had I found a map, but I suppose it is of little importance." He instead leaned against the wall, keeping one eye at the door and the other at his nephew. "Tagawa was sent as part of a special exploratory and disruptive force ahead of the fleet. Black clothing, sneaking from shadow to shadow, you must know the type. She was not even their leader at the time; but the goal was to prepare the ground for the arrival of the main force. Sabotage messaging stations, poke holes in boats, small-scale terrorism; anything to allow for the navy to make a successful landing, the Earth Kingdom's response to be delayed, and a new Fire Nation colony created."

"But Tagawa got captured!" He waved his hands in a threatening manner, and for the moment seemed to have lost awareness of their precarious situation, even if he was still speaking in a hushed tone. He had gone from General Iroh making a report, to Uncle Iroh telling his little nephew a war story. Zuko allowed the hint of a smile on his face.

"Her commander and most of her colleagues slain in the skirmish, she was at the mercy of Lord Bing, whose own security force had seen them release his flock of ostrich horses. Yet to our surprise, he was more than happy to work directly with her, and with us. Bing owned so much in the region, had such an extensive network of fiercely loyal field agents - it was almost silly. He did everything Tagawa's squad had intended to do, and better. Bridges not just sabotaged, but rigged with blasting jelly to be triggered by one of his agents right as an Earth Kingdom squadron crossed. He emptied the harbour, letting our fleet empty their vessels at the same pace as they had boarded them, and with no casualties. In one night, Bing handed us the entire province, allowing us to march to Ba Sing Se unopposed."

He sighed, and the exciting part was over. "We know how that turned out in the end. A siege of two years and the army was no more. Every conquered territory was retaken, and Bing? We never heard from him again. I had assumed that he would be taken care of by the local authorities; rather than show up here in the other part of the country."

Iroh slumped his shoulders, and Zuko wondered why. Nothing about this story seemed to describe Bing as a horrible person; he would interpret this as a happy coincidence that their paths had crossed once more. "Do you know why he betrayed his country?"

"He always said it was the tax rate." Iroh smiled a weak smile that still served to make his cheeks as grooved as the furniture around them. "But honestly, nobody knows. Maybe Tagawa does, and she retired after the expedition, to become governor of one of the resort islands. Which is remarkable in itself; she was in the prime of her career, and set to be made flag officer for her role in the invasion."

Zuko glanced outside again, detecting a new presence among the private army: one that was looking quite upset with his captive audience. "And Lord Bing; how old was he?"

"Just as young and vigorous. I would say in his thirties; why?"

"Then we've got the wrong Bing after all - this guy looks to be my age."


End file.
